The race to succeed Harry Lee as Jefferson Parish sheriff is now set: Eight candidates, including six who took advantage of a second qualifying period that ended Thursday -- will seek the job Lee held for almost 28 years.

Hours before qualifying ended Thursday at 5 p.m., a state judge in Baton Rouge ruled against Harahan Police Chief Peter Dale's attempt to block additional candidates from signing up for the race. Dale, himself a candidate, had argued that the new qualifying period, triggered by state law after Lee died Monday, unfairly burdened his campaign. His attorney intends to appeal.

They will now face off against interim Sheriff Newell Normand, who qualified Tuesday, and state Sen. Art Lentini, R-Kenner, and former Kenner Police Chief Nick Congemi, both of whom signed up Wednesday. Dale and Harvey contractor Julio Castillo became candidates during the first round of qualifying in early September.

Three more candidates

Burns, 48, is a former Jefferson Parish deputy sheriff who resigned after 14 years with the department in 1996 after a federal discrimination lawsuit filed against Lee. Burns said he lost the case and went on to become a transportation director. He works for Triton Diving in Belle Chasse.

"The people of Jefferson Parish prompted me to run," he said. "I've been fielding questions and asking them what's the biggest problem here in Jefferson right now. Everybody kept telling me crime and communicating with the Sheriff's Office about what's going on in their particular neighborhood."

Lane, a former Archbishop Rummel High School graduate and teacher, went on to work in the Secret Service and served as the agent in charge of Coast Guard investigations for the Gulf Coast region. Lane, 36, said he resigned in June to consider a run for sheriff but didn't qualify against Lee out of respect.

"I decided to run because Jefferson Parish is my home, and I've worked with the Secret Service protecting the nation," he said. "Now, I'd like to do something to protect the citizens of Jefferson Parish."

Pittman, 62, worked as a program manager for 32 years with the Army Corps of Engineers. He retired in 2001 and said he's looking for a new challenge.

"I have no law enforcement experience. But I think the parish is looking for fresh eyes," he said.

Dale plans appeal

Dale hoped to stop the three-day qualifying that ended Thursday when he sued the Jefferson Parish clerk of court and the Louisiana secretary of state hours after Lee's death to challenge a statute that calls for the clerk to reopen the race when a candidate dies after qualifying ends but before the polls close on election day.

Judge Wilson Fields of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge said he must follow the long tradition of Louisiana courts deciding election cases liberally to keep as much of the decision in the hands of voters.

"The courts have always promoted candidacy as opposed to restricting candidacy," he said before denying Dale's request for a preliminary injunction to stop the three-day sign-up period.

Even though Dale can pursue his claim that the statute is unconstitutional, Fields' denial effectively killed the legal challenge and did not interrupt the final day of candidate qualifying and the official start to the new race for sheriff.

In fact, the stricter evidentiary requirements of a trial, as opposed to a summary judgment hearing like the one held Thursday, could make the argument moot for Dale's own campaign, because they would likely stretch the legal fight beyond Nov. 17, the new runoff date for the election.

Ron Landry, Dale's attorney, said he would take the case to the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal.

GOP-heavy field

As Dale's legal challenge rumbles forward, political enthusiasts are preparing for what will be a historic election for Jefferson Parish. The almost all-Republican field -- plus two who declared no party -- means the parish will have the first non-Democrat sheriff since the 19th century.

The last Republican sheriff in Jefferson Parish was Oliver Waggner, who served from 1883 to 1890, said Frank Borne Jr., administrative assistant at the Jefferson Parish clerk of courts and an amateur political historian.

The shift in party lines makes sense, said Ed Chervenak, political scientist at the University of New Orleans. Louisiana, once a stronghold for Democrats, is swinging more to the right politically.

"Jefferson Parish is fairly conservative, and a Democratic voter won't hesitate to vote for a Republican if they feel that candidate is more in line with their beliefs."

Lee was a Democrat, but people really didn't associate him with any party, said pollster Ed Renwick, director of Loyola University's Institute of Politics.

"I don't think they thought of him in terms of being a Republican or a Democrat. They mostly viewed him as Harry Lee," Renwick said.

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Michelle Hunter can be reached at mhunter@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7054.

Meghan Gordon can be reached at mgordon@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3785.